Safety apparatus for mine-railways.



N. W. DIOKERSON.

SAFETY APPARATUS FOR MINE RAILWAYS.

' APPLICATION IILED NOV. 12, 1908.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

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NORVAL w. DIGKE'RSON, or DERWE'NT, OHIO.

SAFETY APPARATUS MINE-RAILWAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

Application filed November raises. Serial No. aeazvs.

paratus for use in connection with mine I railways and elevators and it consists in the Q simple, compact, durable and otherwise practically-advantageous apparatus herein-v after described and particularly pointed out in the claimsappended.

ing part of this specification: Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the apparatus con- 2 stituting a practical embodiment of my in-. vention as properly arranged relative to an; elevator shaft and a railway leadingthere-g to; the parts of the apparatus being shown; in their normal positions-i. 6., the positions they occupy when the elevator car or cage is above the landing on which the'apparatus is arranged. Fig. 2 is an elevation of that end of the apparatus adjacent the elevator shaft. Figs. 3, 4- and 5 are enlarged detail views illustrative of one of the car-catchers of the pair adjacent the elevator shaft.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings, referring to which: 7 y

A is an elevator shaft.

B is an elevator car or cage, and G C are the rails of a railway, leading to the shaft and preferably, though not necessarily,

pitchedslightly downward toward the same.

In putting my invention into effect I provide a longitudinal-central rock-shaft D, mounted in" suitable bearings between the rails C, and having a trigger E, of crank form, at its end adjacent the elevator shaft, and also having levers F and G at intermediate points of its length.

H H arerock-shafts journaled and movable endwise in bearings Z) and c, fixed at the outer sides of the rails C, and I I are rockshafts journaled and movable endwise in the bearings c and also in bearings d and having their forward ends opposed to the rear ends of the shafts H, as shown in Fig. 1. At points adjacent the forward bearings Z) the shafts H are provided with flanges e and fiat-portions f, best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and between the said flanges e. and the bearings b shaft.

coiled springs J are interposed; the said springs'surrounding the shafts and having for their office to cushion the blow when the Wheels of a car bring up against either pair of the catchers hereinafter described.

K K are forward car catchersz'. 6., those comprised in thepair adjacent the elevator shaft, and L L are the rear car catchers or those located comparatively remote from the elevator shaft. The forward catchers C are riveted or bolted to the fiat shaft-portions f, c and to said shaft portions are also riveted or bolted depending arms K. The rear catchers L are formed integral with or suitably V fixed to the shafts I in any approved man- In the drawings,accompanying and form,-

ner, and are provided with depending arms L; and in this connection I would have it understood that the catchers K and L may be connected to their shafts in, any manner consonant with the purpose of my invention without involving departure from the scope L to and normally retain the same in the the catchers L will be prevented by said catchers K from passing to the elevator It will also be manifest that when the descending elevator nears the landing a part thereof will strike the trigger E and in that way rock the shaft D in the direction indicated by arrow so as to move the catchers K outwardly from over the rails C, and the catchers L inwardly to positions above the rails. With this done the forward car is obviously free to move on the elevator car, while a following car will bring up against the catchers L. Then when the elevator car ascends from the landing, the weighted arm P will serve to return the parts to the positions shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the said following car will be released by the catchers L and permitted to move forward until it brings up against the catchers K in which latter position'it will be securely retained until the elevator car again reaches the landing.

It Will be gathered from the foregoing that my novel apparatus may be depended on to prevent a car passing to the elevator shaft when there is no car at the landing, and that the apparatus is simple and compact and is well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which apparatus of corre sponding character is ordinarily subjected.

The construction herein illustrated and described constitutes the best practical em-' bodiment of my invention of which I am cognizant, but it will be understood that in the future practice of the invention such changes in the form, construction and relative arrangement of parts may be made as fairly fall within the scope of myinvention as defined in the claims appended.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, 1s:

1. In a safety apparatus, the combination of an elevator shaft, a landing, an elevator car movable in the shaft, a forward car catcher located on the landing and having an arm, a rear car catcher also located on the landing and having an arm, a rock-shaft having levers and also having a trigger which latter is adapted to be engaged and moved by the elevator car, and connections between the levers and the arms of the catchers, all arranged to move the catchers synchronously in opposite directions.

2. In a safety apparatus, the combination of an elevator shaft, a landing, an elevator car movable in the shaft, a forward car catcher located on the landing and having an arm, a rear car catcher also located on the landing and having an arm, a rock-shaft having levers and also having a trigger which latter is adapted to be engaged and moved by the elevator car, connections between the levers and the arms of the catchers arranged to move the catchers synchronously in opposite directions, and a spring arranged to cushion a blow against either catcher.

3. In a safety apparatus, the combination of an elevator shaft, a landing, railway rails thereon, an elevator car, longitudinally disposed bearings arranged alongside the rails, rock-shafts journaled in said bearings and having abutments, springs interposed between ,the abutments and bearings, catchers fixed on the rock-shafts and having arms, a third rock-shaft arranged intermediate the rails and having a trigger and also having levers, and rod connections between the said levers and the arms of the catchers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Wit- HGSSQS- NORVAL V. DICKERSON. \Vitnesses W. H. GREGG, H. J. GREGG. 

